Life then (part 2)

49 years ago,

Nanay (my mom) gave birth to a tiny, quite dark skin, baby girl, 3 years later after I was born. Then I realized a few years later, she is my sister. (of course it takes time to realize, I was too young then)

Eventually, my sister and I learned to make tiny cute chairs and table as small as an Arabian black tea cup, out of the clay that we got from the “Nuno sa Punso house” or the ant hills that we believed was the house of a very powerful leprechauns, dwarfs or “duwende” as we called it. Before we get any handful of clay from it, we ask permission first by saying “Tabi Tabi Po Nuno” meaning, May we pass or get something from your house. By doing this, we believed, that the dwarfs that live inside the anthill will not do any harm to both of us and that they will not make us sick or they will not make our limbs and fingers swell with intense pain. After moulding, we would let it dry under the sun for at least 3 to 4 hours then it’s ready to be played together with our dolls that our father has used to provide us during Christmas and Special occasions such as Birthdays. Most of the time we two, were playing together and when I tried to play along with other children outside, she still opted playing with her dolls and molded clay and enjoyed playing alone with all her toys she collected and kept with her plastic bag, primarily used to hold all the small plastic plates, pots, saucer that we both used during our playtime.

Life then in our town was so simple and basic, We had this kerosene lamp, which was made of medium size peanut butter glass container with a piece of cotton cloth from an old t-shirt of my brother or father as its wicks.

We have no television then, only transistor radio, not until we were in elementary school that we had this television set (Radiowealth brand) embedded in a rectangular, wooden stand that can be opened and closed once we finished “Mga Aninong Gumagalaw movies” (translated in English as Moving Shadows Movies) Once a week we had this- The Sensation, a Musical Variety Show which showcased Ms. Vilma Santos and Edgar Mortiz.

We had this part of the house which we called Batalan, the partof the house that we used for washing dishes and cooking utensils. It is made of lined bamboo sticks to form a platform that is suspended but is attached to the house.

Our stove I remember was made of 3 round or oblong stones, enough to hold any size of pots, all you have to do is to move 1 stone or 2 stones to catch any size of cooking pots. Fire came from pieces of woods that my brother and mother gather from the fields own by anyone, Back then you can get whatever you want from anyone’s yard as long as the owner has the blessings, to allow you to have anything from his yard or field be it fruits, vegetables or firewoods.. Vinegar and soysauce are given away for free at one’s store, When you bought any item, you can ask for Tawad or (giveaways) in the form of soy sauce, vinegar, salt or sugar.

Outside games then were, Luksong Tinik, Tumbang Preso, Luksong Kalabaw, and the funniest and the most enjoyable was taking a bath in the rain with all my playmates and other kids in the neighborhood. I still enjoy remembering those days every time it rains.

Luckily, my mother and father who were both hardworking, were able to send us to school and in the ” Pursuit of Happyness” (spelling from the movie of Will Smith) we were able to graduate and earned both a degree and diploma respectively. My sister graduated from Sta ISabel College and me, from Emilio Aguinaldo College (former Marian College) and my sis now is living her dream. Her plastic plates, saucer and pots evolved into chinaware plates, stainless pots, and European baking utensils which she is now using in running her bake shop in England.

To know more about me, please click "inside suburb" at the bottom of this page, then view "about me ." ''

(I did not mention my sister's full name to protect her privacy…….)